After a bitterly chilly Christmas for much of the UK, a new cold snap is set to arrive in time for 2010. The Met Office said it was expecting significant snow across Wales and the Midlands.

"The worst weather will arrive on Tuesday and Wednesday with between 5-10cm of snow in Wales. We have got a cold front pushing up from the south that will turn to snow quite quickly," said forecaster Chris Bulmer.

"Temperatures will be around freezing, but milder in the south. To the far north of England it will be colder [with] wintry showers. It will also be quite windy."

New Year's Eve is expected to be cold. The far south would have rain, sleet and snow, with temperatures around freezing overnight, Bulmer said. New Year's Day will also be chilly, with London temperatures not expected to rise above 4C.

The forecast follows a spell of snow and ice that brought chaos to the UK's transport network for more than a week.

Today, Scotland remained worst affected by the wintry weather. On the Isle of Lewis, a coastguard rescue helicopter was sent to Loch Barvas after a man fell through ice as he played with his son. He managed to get out of the water before the helicopter arrived. Police said he "should have known better".

Glasgow airport suspended operations on the runway yesterday from 11.30am to 1pm to allow for snow clearing operations to take place.

On Merseyside, a council said a number of gritting bins had been stolen and advised drivers to delay journeys until later this week.

Two men died on the M6 in Lancashire on Christmas night when their car overturned after skidding on ice and colliding with a tree. A third man suffered serious injuries.